500+ PAGES OF “CAPTIVATING” AND “UTTERLY CONSUMING” STANDALONE ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS ROMANCEOnce upon a cold, dark night, a Russian killer stole me from an alley.I’m dangerous, but he is lethal.I escaped once.He won’t let me do it twice. The revenge is his. The betrayal is mine.But so are the lies to protect the ones I love. We’re cut from the same twisted cloth. Both merciless. Both damaged. In his … same twisted cloth. Both merciless. Both damaged.
In his embrace, I find hell and heaven, his cruelly tender touch destroying and uplifting me at once.
They say a cat has nine lives, but an assassin has just one.
And Yan Ivanov now owns mine.
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I love a bad boy, especially one with style and swagger,and Yan had plenty of both. He is well matched with Mina, a tough assassin who’s had a hard life. What begins as a sexual connection turns into a hostage situation, which evolves into one twisted love story. Filled with heat, suspense, and action, Darker Than Love was a fun, juicy read I thoroughly enjoyed!
I’ve read several books by both of these authors, so I was really looking forward to this story. And I wasn’t disappointed. It’s an entertaining and fun read. The story is well executed, the characters believable and interesting and the world building is quite effective. All of the ingredients of a good story are present.
This is the story of Yan and Mina, both highly trained assassins who are at cross purposes when they first meet. However, they both feel a strong pull towards each other, and this creates…problems. And thus the story unfolds from there. Unknown plots, betrayals, and lies thrust these two into very dangerous territories.
The secondary characters are also very well developed and interesting. Yan’s brother, a twin but quite different, their cohorts and the villains are all vivid and bring a great deal to the story.
I really enjoyed this book; it grabbed me at the first and I read it straight through to the end. Highly recommended.
A VERY BEAUTIFUL STORY, CAPTIVATING AND TORMENTED
23 years ago, near Budapest, the little Mina traveled by car with her parents.
The car is suddenly stopped by two men who shoot the parents while missing the little girl who runs away into the forest.
Nowadays, in Budapest, Mina is a waitress in a bar.
Tired one evening, she overturns her tray, bends down to mop up and overhears a strange and dangerous conversation between two men.
Later she feels observed.
At the end of her work, she’s abducted by the two men, the brothers Yan and Ilya Ivanov, henchmen of Peter Sokolov…
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A magnificent Book, read almost in one go : a very, very beautiful, intense, captivating and tormented story.
Attached to the story “My Tormented Mine” by A. Zaïres, we find there the characters of Twins Ivanov and Mina.
I really loved the two main characters : Mina and Yan.
I can’t choose between the two, so different, so dented by life.
The authors show great imagination and great sensitivity : the story of this novel is incredible.
I really liked the evolution of the characters, sometimes complex, in this novel.
Thanks to both authors!
I recommend this book.
Intense, amazing, and consuming would best describe this story written by Anna & Charmaine. Wow, what these two authors created with Yan & Mina’s characters kept me on the edge most of the time and wanting more. In Yan’s eyes he says it so well with this “Ours is not a sweet romance. It’s larger than love. Darker than love. And it’s hers. All hers.” This quote just stood out to me so much.
Mina was so strong and protective of others even when she had been through so much then and now. Mina’s words were truly the best to explain her and Yan. “The love I thought I’d never know spreads through my veins, melting the last of the numbing chill in my heart.” Their feelings for each other was beautiful for two broken souls.
I enjoyed these two authors writing together. I can’t wait for the next book from them.
I devoured this compilation between two of my favourite authors, like couldn’t put it down I was that invested here.
They smashed it out of the park with this, it was just brilliant from start to finish and I actually liked everything about this which doesn’t happen very often for me.
Mina is ex-special ops, she has a tragic backstory and deep secrets she is also a freelance sniper with the code name mink.
Yan and his brother Llya are international assassins for pay after a chance run-in with the boys and a night to remember with Yan Mina runs.
Fast-forward 15 months and she’s dealing with the consequences when she unwittingly gets tangled up in a job involving there team and she becomes collateral damage, to make it worse Yan is convinced she has betrayed him.
So this is an enemy to lovers /captive romance it’s a real page-turner and action-packed all the way.
Both Mina and Yin are such interesting and intriguing individuals and despite there, initial antagonistic feelings actually got each other completely on each and every level.
Even with all the hate and betrayal and negative emotions being thrown around Yan and Mina still had such a special connection.
Yan can lie to himself all he wants he may think he doesn’t care but his sense of betrayal proves otherwise, he is bothered so much because he’s so emotionally invested and can’t look at Mina and her past actions with an unbiased eye, he is taking it all personally unlike his brother who is much more empathetic and understanding concerning Mina.
I absolutely adored Mina her resilience and inner strength combined with her loyalty was just so admirable.
This book showcased the connection splendidly and for two people supposedly low on the empathy and feelings side this sure was heavy on the emotion.
The chemistry and heat these two expelled projected off the page with its sheer and utter intensity and I was just so invested in the unfolding narrative.
This went places I never expected, digging its talons deep into my very soul and dragging out my every feeling.
It was brilliant and fully deserves more than five stars I enjoyed every single minute.
This is a read that I highly recommend.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Darker Than Love (Darker Than Love, #1).
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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All I can say is WOW, this book just blew me away. Now I have the biggest book hangover and I feel like I need more to make me feel sane again. Anna Zaires and Charmaine Pauls have a wonderful writing collaboration and they created a book that has it all. This book is romantic, dark and immensely satisfying. It took me on a roller coaster of emotions with all the highs and lows and twists and turns. I found the storyline so realistic and gratifying and I loved her characters Yan and Mina. They were two damaged people who made each other whole. It felt like they belonged together and found their soulmate. I love this quote by Yan “Ours is not a sweet romance. It’s larger than love. Darker than love. And it’s hers. All hers.” It exemplifies the whole book to me. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I hope Anna and Charmaine write another book soon. I will forever be their devoted reader.
Love this co-writing of this authors. Yan and Mina story was an epic read it was dark, intense and it had it’s tough moments but it had it’s beauty too. I would say that this authors they for sure know how to write a story that will have you at the end of your sit and turning the pages fast enough to get to the next chapter they just made a good love story with Mina and Yan.
Darker Than Love was an engrossing, engaging read that will have you hooked from beginning to end. I’ve loved everything Charmaine Pauls writes and with this collaboration with Anna Zaires I was so excited for this novel.
The story was emotional, angsty, and dark with some twists I did not see coming. Yan and Mina were two complex well developed characters with intense chemistry from the start. Yan took possessive Alpha to another level, and Mina had a strength and determination I absolutely loved. Together these two had a chemistry that was off the charts hott.
Darker Than Love was well written, layered and a thrilling read. I loved it and I would highly recommend this novel to all lovers of dark romance.
Absolutely everything!
I knew from reading the blurb that Darker Than Love would be an amazing read, I just didn’t know how amazing. I devoured it…slowly as I didn’t want it to end!
Yan and Mina’s story is possessive and lust filled. There’s loyalty and trust. Lies and betrayal. The tension that builds up between these two characters is palpable. The strength that Mina possesses after what she dealt with at such a young age and Yan’s fierce protectiveness played a big part throughout.
Darker Than Love is an action packed, suspense filled, emotional read that had me on the edge of my seat with anticipation then not wanting to turn the page with worry.
Charmaine Paul’s and Anna Zaires have knocked this out of the park, I’m hoping for more from these two.
Yan is a lethal and merciless mercenary and has learned to survive on his own. Mina is a dangerous woman and, after a devastating incident in her childhood, is unable to have relationships and connect with people. When Yan believes that Mina betrayed him, a dangerous game begins and he plans to be the only winner. She is now in his possession, to do with her as he pleases. Darker Than Love is captivating and filled with suspense! The intimate scenes are raw with passion and breathtaking! Yan and Mina have never fallen in love before and find it difficult to process their feelings. They are sensual and passionate together! I loved this collaboration between two of my favorite authors and can’t wait to read more stories from them.
5* Thrilling Stars
This was my first time reading a book co-written by Anna Zaires and Charmaine Pauls and it certainly won’t be my last. Their writing was flawless, and the story flowed seamlessly.
This was a fast-action-packed wild ride between two highly trained assassins, Mina and Yan who meet as enemies, when she is abducted by him, and despite being his hostage both are struggling to deal with their strong attraction they have towards each other. Neither one trust the other and lies are told which results in very dangerous decisions being made. The secondary characters were amazing and pivotal to the story.
The story of Mina and Yan was thrilling with some twists and turns thrown into it and was scorching hot! I loved every page read and highly recommend this great thrilling sexy read.
I’ve been a long-time reader of both Anna Zaires and Charmaine Pauls, so this collaboration was a match made in heaven for me. I wasn’t sure how the two would tell this story as a standalone, given all the history between Yan and Mina, but they somehow did it flawlessly.
The duo have a gift for taking the irredeemable characters that we should hate and making us root for them and their unconventional love story. Yan is emotionless and stoic and feels zero remorse for any of his sins. So when he has an instant connection with Mina on the night they meet, it’s no surprise that he’s out for vengeance after her betrayal.
Their relationship develops quickly, but in a way that feels organic and natural for their characters.
I loved the give and take of their relationship as they fluctuated back and forth between the instincts where they knew they should hate the other, and the deep connection they felt that drove them together against the odds.
Anna Zaires and Charmaine Pauls blend seamlessly to create this captivating dark romance.
GREAT story with a very possessive H. I don’t know what to say that won’t give the book away that isn’t already stated in the book’s description, but if you like captive stories with very possessive heroes who refuse to let the heroine go, this is a great one. I listened to the audiobook because that is how I roll, and the narrators were fabulous.
A captive heroine, an anti-hero, the Russian mafia and Anna Zaires/Charmaine Pauls teaming up to write a dark romance? That checks all my boxes. Darker than Love is a captivating, dark, super-hot read! Loved this book and hope there’s more to come!
It was co-written by one of the best authors out there. Zaire’s name speaks for itself! You can’t go wrong with one of her books!!
Anna Zaires aka the QUEEN of dark romances.
No one writes like Mrs Zaires, honestly. Every book I read I inhale, ever character I come across I’m captivated, every love story is enthralling. And Darker Than Love was no exception.
Yan and Mina were really just >>>>>. I loved that you could almost feel that elemental deep chemistry that was pulling them together. I found Mina to be such a wonderful heroine, so strong and with a heart of gold. Yan was just le sigh, what can I say he was perfection. I adored the possessiveness, the way he just couldn’t let go of Mina and how he fell for her in spite it seemingly being a foreign concept to him.
I’m greedy when it comes to Anna Zaires so I was hoping for more than one book, but the story was very well written and well paced. I’m hoping to see maybe a short novella for these two so we can see them living their HEA or a story for Ilya, but again thats just me being greedy and hoping for more of Mrs Zaires’ amazing writing.
Nothing prepared me for the emotional roller coastal ride of Darker than Love. The authors collaboration was a seamless journey from a rocky betrayal, misplaced loyalty, and redemption. There is no damsel in distress. Mink may be small in stature, but, she was strongest when she felt weak. Mink left a big footprint for strong female characters to follow.
Really loving these characters!
One night in Budapest. She’s weak and recovering and she heard something she was not meant to hear.
She’s striking and he can’t keep his eyes off her. Two hours he watched her work, knowing she heard him and yet he can’t break the connection.
Take her? Keep her? After a night they’ll both remember, that’s his plan. But she has her own plans.
Fast forward 15 months to the clusterf*ck at Peter and Sara Sokolov’s family home. When Yan and Ilya learn who the shooter was, they’re stunned. It’s her! Kidnapping and making her his prisoner, Yan finds he is still obsessed with her. He wants more of her. But she’s got to answer for being complicit in trying to murder his entire team. He’s torturing her one minute and the next he’s bringing them both to the height of passion. Keeping her is not the plan. She has a time stamp and time is now up…
But their story isn’t over. There is much more to come; passion, guilt, anger, secrets and feelings. It comes down to a hailstorm of bullets, a heartbreaking discovery and love.
Once upon a cold, dark night, a Russian killer stole me from an alley. I’m dangerous, but he is lethal.
I escaped once. He won’t let me do it twice. I absolutely loved this book I was sucked in from the first chapter it was so addictive with the twists and turns of the story line and the strange but burning chemistry between the characters and their hot sex, this was one of those books that I didn’t want it to end.
This book can be read as a stand alone, however, it will be much better understood if you first read the dark series by Anna Zaires
Twist me
Capture me
Tormentor Mine
Yan was part of Peter Sokolov’s mercenary team.
But after seeking revenge for the death of his wife and son, Peter fell in love with Dr. Sara and left his life of crime behind.
The team was then led by Yan.
His twin brother Ilya, as well as Anton Rezov, remained on the team.
Peter’s plans to have a suburban life went well until he and his former team were accused of terrorists. They started to be hunted and had to prove innocence.
But the executioner didn’t just want to get Peter’s team, but also Julian Esguerra, a famous arms dealer, and his partner Lucas Kent.
Their investigation leads them to sniper Mink – or, Mina Belan, a waitress Yan had met in Budapest.
And this is where our story begins.
Mina would be the link to find the one who really wanted to destroy Peter and his teammates.
However, Yan had an unfinished business with Mina, and although they solved the previous problem, he would not let her get out of his life.
This would give a certain headache in relation to his twin, Ilya, since before Mina, the brothers almost always shared women.
Mina was considered a heartless person.
As a child witness to her parents’ murder, she closed herself off to the world, being raised by her grandmother, Hanna.
Now, her grandmother was in a private clinic, weakened by Parkinson’s.
After leaving Special Forces, Mina went on to work as a mercenary to have enough money for her grandmother.
But for some time now she hid something about herself, and had a plan in place to make everything right and her grandmother could have the proper treatment and care.
Yan in Mina’s life was a complication.
Not only because he was a cold killer, but mainly because he made her feel, want, and time was something Mina didn’t have…
5 stars